BROOKSVILLE — The Brooksville Golden Corral has been a fixture at 940 S. Broad St. for 17 years.

But the Raleigh N.C.-based chain closed the doors of that site this month, leaving only its restaurant in Spring Hill for fans of the all-you-can-eat buffet.

It was the opening of the Spring Hill restaurant at 5300 U.S. 19 in December that contributed to the closing of the Brooksville site, said Bob McDevitt, senior vice president of franchising for Golden Corral.

“We were uncertain as to whether that would happen or not but it did take some of the business,” McDevitt said.

He said it came down to a business decision as to whether to keep open a store that had been losing sales even before the Spring Hill site debuted.

“(That) is a new location and people prefer going to a newer (restaurant),” he said.

McDevitt said the chain would do its best to relocate the three managers and 40 to 50 employees

The 7,567-square-foot Spring Hill restaurant features a contemporary design scheme that makes it attractive to diners, he said. It is at the corner of U.S. 19 and Plyna Street, north of a Lowe’s Home Improvement store. Though the Brooksville site was re-modeled in 2005, customers still are apt to go to the “latest and greatest,” McDevitt said.

He did not rule out the possibility that a new Golden Corral may open someday in Brooksville but there are no firm plans for one.